Hedgehog's Dilemma

Some people have a personality unsuited to making friends. Here is the story of the "Hedgehog's dilemma"

If a hedgehog wants to give his warmth to other hedgehogs he must get near them, however the closer he approaches the more they injure each other. It's the same with some people. They feel that they can not form relationships with others, and can't let people close to them, for fear of being hurt.

Some people let this fear rule their lives, they won't enter into any relationship because they fear what they perceive as the inevitable break down of that relationship and thus feel that they would be better off not having it at all.

We live and grow by interacting with others, and it is other people that hurt us the most, but without others then we are the same as nothing (see the last 2 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion).

People cause us pain, by avoiding people we avoid pain, for a time. However loneliness is a type of pain also, and it can grow to become more than the pain caused by other people, therein lies the Hedgehog's Dilemma.
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When Mike came back to his apartment later, he felt like a changed man. He wasn't sure if he really liked "being in love," as they called it. The only thing he knew was that he couldn't stand being alone like this, knowing there was a warmer bed across the city waiting for him.

And, to his surprise, Alison was waiting for him. She had somehow known he would be back--who wouldnt come back after such an afternoon? It seemed as if she was already beginning to find intimacy with him, as if a little bit of his soul already belonged to her. As far as Mike could tell, there was only one option for him.

Michael didn't read the papers the next day, or for a few days after that. He supposed they would find her beautifulbody sooner or later, but he didn't want to face it. He needed to stick to his RPG's for awhile.